Five of them were part of the side that won the Twenty20 world championship in South Africa last year. As far as a T20 championship goes, that’s logic.

Consider this then: Ricky Ponting, regarded as one of the best batsmen of this generation, was sold for Rs 1.6 crore.

Even players associated with Young India — the likes of Rohit Sharma (Hyderabad; Rs 3 cr), Manoj Tiwary (Delhi; Rs 2.7 cr), Robin Uthappa (Mumbai; Rs 3.2 cr) and Gautam Gambhir (Delhi; Rs 2.9 cr) — were priced higher than Ponting. Proven performers such as Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist were left behind.

The biggest pointer towards the bidders going by nationalist sentiments is the case of Ishant Sharma. The Delhi fast bowler, who has come up leaps and bounds over the last couple of months, went for an incredible Rs 3.7 crore. Chaminda Vaas, one of the stingiest bowlers world cricket has known over the last decade, was picked up by Hyderabad for Rs 80 lakh.

And Lalit Modi didn’t mind blowing India’s trumpet. “They are T20 champions. Even Joginder Sharma wasn’t left behind and got a price Rs 90 Lakh. It is a good to see that they, being winners, were aptly rewarded,” Modi said during the auction process.

In Dhoni’s case, the moolah’s understandabl— - he is among the leading brand icons in the country.

Considering the amount of money that has been spent on buying the franchises, teams might — perhaps understandably — be veering towards recovering investment as of now.

Ad-man Prahlad Kakkar explained to The Indian Express: “Indian cricketers happen to be the biggest brand icons in the country. They are as big as Bollywood stars and Dhoni endorses as many brands as Hrithik Roshan or Akshay Kumar does.”

Australian cricketers were expected to dominate the auction proceedings given the fact that India’s famous trio of Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, along with Yuvraj Singh and Virender Sehwag, had already been declared as icon players.

The only Australian who hit the big league was Andrew Symonds, who was picked up by Hyderabad for Rs 5.4 —r - the second highest bid after Dhoni.

Considering the background, allegations of racism and all, the demand for him is quite surprising. India Inc could be cashing in on his brand recall value—and, he’s not such a bad cricketer either.

MS Dhoni Sold for: 6 crore

Base price: 1.6 crore

Team: Chennai

Owner:India Cements

Ricky Ponting Sold for: 1.6 crore

Base price: 1.3 crore

Team: Kolkata

Owner:Shah Rukh Khan

Andrew Symonds Sold for: 5.4 crore

Base price:1 crore

Team: Hyderabad

Owner:Deccan Chronicle

Sanath Jayasuriya Sold for: 3.9 crore

Base price:1 crore

Team: Mumbai

Owner:Reliance

Ishant Sharma Sold for: 3.7 crore

Base price: 60 lakh

Team: Kolkata

Owner:shah rukh khan

Twenty20

Total players: 78

Teams: 8

Amount spent:Rs128 crore

On 27 Indian players: Rs 56 crore

Average on Indian players: 2.1 crore

On 51 foreign players: Rs 72 crore

Average on foreign players: 1.4 crore

Auction time taken: 7.5 hours